Tale of the Victor
by Airon Pegasus
Summary: Finn and Jake fought for two days for an incredible house they didn't want, and lost anyways. But what about the one who did win? Where did she come from? How did she win? This is the story of Nesha and her new friend Durn as they break the rules and fight their way to victory, but what do they have to go through first?
1. Friends

Snow fell silently, as the night. Sunlight faded, and the poor young wolf padded through the frozen forest. He carried a letter in his teeth. For whom the letter was, he didn't know, but he did as he was told.

He shivered, not so much out of cold, but in fright, for he was told of the strangeness of the place, hidden deep within the Ice Kingdom, of how animals have ventured in, and never come out.

_What am I worried about?_ He thought as he walked. _Animals go missing all the time. Other animals eat them; it's the circle of life._ The reassurance nearly worked for him. Then a branch snapped and fell, overpowered by the heavy snow. _But I'm not looking for another animal. I'm looking for a witch._

A witch was what those who feared her would call her. And everything feared her. Nesha was a mysterious being who lived in complete solitude, because she also feared herself.

The wolf, known to his comrades by the name of Durn, shook on his paws, staring at the menacing destination. The thousand year old tree, frozen mid-fall in pikes and pillars of pure ice. Frozen air and water embraced the branches of the elder pine, trying to keep it up in death. Snowflakes held needles in place, and cracks allowed sap to flow. Durn whimpered.

He took another step, remembering his orders: _Leave the letter and go. Leave the letter and go._ He approached the opening of the icy fortress and laid the envelope in the packed snow, quickly turning tail to flee. He was cut short.

A wooden arrow whizzed past his muzzle and stuck into the ground before him. Instantly, a wall of thick ice shot up, blocking his path. He turned again, back toward the icy home, but another arrow closed him in. Surrounded by ice on all sides, he panicked like a pup in the dark.

Then a figure fell before him, outside the walls of his cage. "What brought you here, wolf?"

Nesha sounded strong, but her figure, though distorted through the ice, looked frail, young. Durn found himself staring, trying to make out details of her face, unknowing whether they would comfort him, or strike fear.

"Can you speak?" She demanded.

He shook his head and responded, "Yes miss, I can speak."

"Then tell me why you are here."

"I was sent to deliver a letter. It's there by your door."

She turned and picked up the envelope Durn had left. She took a moment to read it, and Durn hopelessly searched for an escape. Finally she spoke again. "Who sent it?"

"I can't tell you," Durn whined.

She quickly knocked an arrow and drew it back, ready to fire. Durn didn't deny that she would be able to shot him through her own ice barricade, but intended to keep the secret regardless.

She sensed the determination in him, through the fear. She knew the animal would not subject to intimidation as easily as others. Plus, she didn't really like making people fear her.

She took the arrow and scrapped it along the surface of the ice wall and it cracked, falling apart like a sand castle under a wave. Durn gazed at her face for too long, absorbing her glistening beauty which portrayed in the strangest way. "You're made of ice," he whispered.

"Yes," she frowned, "Now please tell me who sent you."

Durn sighed, knowing better than to give away his master's identity. "I can't tell you," Though he wanted to. He wanted to find friendship in her that would save him from his master's cruelty.

"Yes," she said quietly, reaching down to pet his head, "you can." Her hand, though made of ice, sent warm feelings through Durn's skull. Was it a spell?

Durn looked at her. She wasn't smiling, but he felt like she was happy to see him. He wanted to like her, truly, but if it was a spell and she betrayed him, he would answer to his master's punishments.

Nesha pulled away. "You think I'm fooling you?"

Had she read his mind? "N-n-no, miss… I –"

"You do, you fear the person who sent you more than you trust me."

She was spot on, all Durn could do was look at her. He was aria to trust her. "I'm afraid of you, and him."

"Fair enough," she said. "Since the letter is instructing me to go to the Ice King's castle, why don't we go together? The Ice Kingdom can be pretty scary if you travel alone."

Durn whimpered. He wasn't supposed to stay with her. He was instructed to return the way he had come.

Suddenly, he saw no harm in it. What could go wrong? As long as he made it back anyway, right?

He nodded, still scared out of his wits, but a little more comfortable in her presence. She half-smiled, and with another touch of an arrow, the entire ice wall crumbled to snow.

"Let us make our way to the castle then." She stood and began making her way out of the dense forest.

Durn begrudgingly followed. He had made the deal with her, and the deal sort of worked out with his original plans. He could stick with her and find their way back to where he was supposed to be.

After some time walking, he grew rather bored and decided to make conversation. "So," he began, "how did you figure out the letter's riddle so quickly?"

"It was easy, really. There were all kinds of folds in the paper that made out to look like pointed tops. Those tops pointed to certain letters that spelled Ice King." She was impressed by the original mode of trivial messaging, and pleased with herself for figuring it out so quickly.

"That's amazing," Durn complimented. "I never would have figured it out."

"I'm sure an idea would have sparked in your brilliant mind sooner or later." Nesha patted his head again and he smiled. He had never known such kindness.

"So," he tried to keep going, "where does an ice girl come from?"

"I am meager ice sculpture given life from the lost spirit of an ancient huntress." She said it with such a serious tone, it kind of worried Durn. Then she looked down at him and smiled. "I'm only joking. I don't really know how I'm alive. Some magic spell a long time ago animated me, or maybe transformed me. I don't have any memory beyond about fifty years ago, when I woke up in that treehouse."

_Fifty years!_ Durn thought, _is she really that old?_

"If I can even really call it a treehouse," she mentioned.

"It's a tree, and your house," Durn said, attempting to joke. "What more do you need?"

Nesha snickered. "You're right, it is my house." She laughed a little more, which inspired a little laughter from Durn, too. Then, "Hey, I don' think I got your name."

"Oh, I'm Durn," he answered before thinking. After he realized he'd told her, he saw no harm. "I'm the youngest in my pack, so Fenris gave me the task of sending the letter to you."

"Fenris, huh?" Nesha stroked her chin and glanced at him. Durn silently cursed himself for giving away the information so willingly. She laughed some more. "Well, I can't wait to meet this 'Fenris.' What's he like?"

"Oh, I really shouldn't tell you. He wants to meet with you personally."

"Okay, can you tell me about the contest he's hosting?" She was really eager to get info from him.

"Contest?" He looked at her. "I don't know anything about a contest." It was true too. He wasn't told anything other than to deliver the letter.

"Oh really?" She glanced at him sideways again, obviously not believing him. "Well, it was in the letter that he had chosen me to compete against heroes of all kinds for a prize unlike any other."

Durn's eyes widened. "Wow," he said, "I wish he had chosen me, if the prize is really that great."

Nesha laughed, "Don't worry Durn, I'll share it with you."

Durn couldn't believe how hospitable she was, especially in contrast to how she acted when he'd first shown up. He laughed with her and they walked for a while, telling stories and jokes, making merry and all that. Durn was glad to have finally found a friend.

"Okay, so tell me," Nesha insisted as they continued walking, "how does the hierarchy really work with wolves?"

"What's a 'hierarchy'?" Durn asked.

"A hierarchy, my dear wolf, is the social ladder of a functioning society." A blank stare was all she got. "Just tell me who's in charge and why."

"Oh, my dad's in charge because he's oldest."

"So he's the alpha wolf?"

Durn sighed, "Is that what you were getting at?"

"Well, sort of, what's wrong?" She stopped and kneeled closer to him.

"That whole _alpha wolf_ thing is a bunch of hoopla," Durn explained, disheartened. "We run more by family matters. I'm the youngest, so I have the least influence. Any lone wolves that would join our pack would be sent to the end of the 'ladder' until they proved themselves to my father to be worthy of a higher position."

"What if they're younger than you?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "We've never accepted any lone wolves."

"Aww," Nesha wrapped a frozen hand around Durn and hugged him. Despite her icy nature, the hug was infinitely warm for him. "Well, you're _my_ alpha wolf."

The sun was coming up as the Ice King's castle came within sight. Durn and Nesha gazed at the glowing ice in the rising sunlight. Nesha whistled, "What a view."

"Yeah," they paused. "Well, let's go," Durn urged.

"Whoa whoa whoa…" Nesha stopped him. "Do you have any idea what we're looking for in there?"

Durn rubbed his chin, then said, "Not a clue."

"Then we can't just go in there. We need to come up with a plan."

"Right."

They sat on the ground and thought for a few minutes. A few long minutes.

Nesha had a plan of her own, but felt like giving Durn a chance to come up with something. Meanwhile, Durn was just silently waiting for Nesha to come up with something.

Finally, Durn got bored. "Why don't we just wait until nighttime?"

"Great idea!" She praised him. It was partly her idea as well. "But if he leaves sometime during the day, we could have a chance to sneak in then." Nesha knew all too well about how often Ice King left his castle to go around and search for princesses to capture.

"That sounds good." He held out his paw and Nesha shook it. "It's a deal; we'll wait for the ice king to leave and sneak in."

"And if we have to, we'll wait until tonight."

Then, Durn's ears pricked. Nesha caught it. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I heard something." He glanced down a hill and spotted a polar bear running toward the Ice Castle. "Stop!" He shouted, and began chasing.

Nesha ran too, but couldn't hardly keep up.

Durn ran after the polar bear with all his might, knowing that the animal had heard the conversation and intended to tell Ice King about their plan. He tackled the bear and they rolled through the snow. Unfortunately, the bear was bigger and ultimately pinned Durn down. "No," the bear growled, "I must warn the Ice King." He raised a massive paw the strike Durn, but an arrow stopped him. It pierced his neck and froze him solid. Durn was mortified.

Nesha shoved the bear off of Durn and the wolf staggered away. "You just shot that animal!"

"He was about to kill you!"

Durn stuttered. "Well, y-you… but, Agh…" He paced quickly. "That's the food chain. Bigger, stronger animals eat little ones."

"He wasn't going to eat you," Nesha argued, "he was going to kill you and tell Ice King of our plan."

Durn growled some more. "NO, that's not right."

"Look," Nesha sighed, "You're right about the food chain. I'm stronger, and now I can eat a bear." Durn just glared at her. "Well, what was I supposed to do? I didn't want him killing my friend!"

Durn's scowl fell. Friend?

"We're… we're friends?"

"Of course, we've been through so much together now, I freakin' killed bear to save your life!"

Durn looked at the dead bear. She had a point, now they could eat a bear. It would be more like a feast. "You're right." He smiled at her. She smiled back.

"All right, well," she breathed heavily. She was pretty wiped out, having never argued with anyone before. "Let's eat."


	2. Ice

They slept in shifts during the day, keeping watch for other signs of danger, or if the Ice king left at all. He never did.

When night fell, the two sneaked up the narrow pathway that led up to the front door of the Ice King's castle. There was no actual door, but an open archway that led directly inside.

The room was dark and mysterious, with all kinds of strange things to be seen, which could not have been suspected in an evil wizard's castle. There was a cage with ice bars, of course. Then there was a drum set and electric keyboard, a little arm chair with a projection screen in the seat, a bunch of dumbbells and workout stuff, a fancy bed with a fabulous leopard fur blanket beside a basket filled with dirty laundry, and a pile of board games in the corner.

_Weird,_ thought Durn as they looked around. _What kind of king is he? _

Nesha was having the same thoughts, but didn't spend much time on it. She knew she was here for a reason. They left through a door in the back and found their way around. First they found a very clean, white bathroom, then a flight of stairs. Durn insisted on following them right away, but Nesha felt more like exploring the first floor some more.

With careful inspection, she uncovered a secret room filled with all kinds of ninja weapons, and an old-looking book. Nesha is not interested.

They are about to leave the secret cave, when a thought comes to Durn. "Hey," he says, "if the Ice King never left, then why is his bed empty."

Nesha realizes his point and sighs. "Because he's still awake somewhere," she says. "We're going to have to be more careful."

"But where is he?" Durn whispers harshly.

Nesha was about to answer when they hear the Ice King's humming. "Hide," she instructs Durn quietly before taking an arrow from her quiver and, touching the tip to the floor, recovering the broken ice of the secret doorway. She then dives behind a pedestal holding a pair of ice-nun chucks. Durn curled up behind the book stand.

After a few seconds, the humming stops. Nesha sees Ice King's silhouette through the thin ice door and hears his muffled speech. "Oh, I felt a draft," he says quietly, "that's strange." Then his tone grows angry and he blasts around with ice lightning. "Who's been using ice magic in my home?!" One of the blasts breaks through the secret door and Durn whimpers in fright.

Ice King's barrage ceases. Nesha watches silently as he approaches the doorway, looking for the source of the little whine. "I can sense your heat, whoever you are." He starts creeping up to the book stand, starting a little spark of ice lightning in his hand as an evil smile crept across his face.

Nesha jumped out then and knocked an arrow, calling "Hey" as she did.

"Wha…" Ice King turned, confused, "who are you?" Without waiting for a response, he swung his arms in a wide arc, releasing a terrifying spray of bluish white streams of ice magic at the intruder. Nesha released her arrow at him and the magic stream stopped, forming a wall of ice in mid-air. The arrow flew forward, and Ice King was sure it would be stopped by his shield.

When the tip of the arrow made contact with the ice, it instantly shriveled away, leaving just enough room for the shaft and fletching to pass through without diverting its course. It continued to fly straight for Ice King.

Thinking fast, the wizard made another sweep of his arm and a gust of wind blew the arrow upward, sticking into the icy ceiling. The wood was quickly encased in frozen stalactites.

Nesha fired another arrow at the spikes created by the previous. It hit before Ice King could intercede and broke the ice that kept the vicious spike in place. I fell quickly. Ice King barely had time to use his magic beard to fly backward and avoid being impaled.

"Who _are _you?" He asked again, though he seemed genuinely curious now.

Durn jumped on his back then, tackling him to the ground where he hit his head and fell unconscious.

As the Ice King's eyes creaked open, the sun glared off the shiny ice walls of the castle. When the old man finally did wake up, he found himself completely tied down. His arms and legs were bound by solid rope to a wooden chair. He looked around in a panic and saw himself in his own bedroom (which was also his dungeon) with a mysterious hooded girl staring down at him.

"Who are you?" This time he demanded. "And what do you want?"

"That's what I want to know," Nesha said.

"You got this chair from my The Past room didn't you? And this rope?"

"Well, we couldn't tie you down with ice," She said smoothly, stroking his beard, "wouldn't want you melting your way out."

He snapped his teeth at her and she backed off, then a little brown wolf growled at him. "Okay, so you know who I am," he offered, which wasn't entirely true, "But who are you?"

Nesha sighed and slowly removed her hood. Ice King gaped at the site.

"You're made of ice?" He gawked. "Did I make you?"

"No, Ice King, you didn't make me."

"Okay, then who are you?"

Nesha was getting tired of him asking that. "I'm getting to that!" She howled. Then she sighed again, "Even though I don't totally know, myself."

"Oh well that's okay," Ice King sympathized, "I don't know a whole lot about my past either. That's why I have my _The Past _room. I spent all day down there reading stuff and some of it was pretty crazy."

"What are you talking about?" Durn insisted.

"Well, little wolfy," Ice King struggled to pat Durn on the head, but had no luck, "I have a room full of stuff that I have no idea about. Like, I don't know where it came from, I don't know who Simon is or why he knows so much about my crown… Though, the more I think about it, people have been calling _me_ Simon for a while. So, whoever he was, he must have brainwashed all my friends into thinking I am him. Yes, that must be it." He gave a cute little smile that showed just how childishly dumb he was.

Nesha stared at him for a while, and he smiled back.

"Pretty crazy right?" Ice King winked at her.

"Umm…" Durn bumped into her with his head and she shook off her confusion. "Well, we need to know what this is about." She showed him the letter she had received.

He barely glanced at it for a second before getting off track again. "I dunno. Hey, why doesn't your hood have a cape?"

"What?"

"Your hood, it doesn't have a cape. Why? I mean, I've seen hoods, but they always have this cool cloak, cowl, cape part to it. Or at least a nice sweater."

Nesha huffed in frustration at the nearly unbearable stupidity of this innocent-minded old fool. "It's so I can reach my arrows, in my quiver." She twisted to show the old man the little leather pocket – with feather fletching on sticks jutting out – hanging from her shoulder.

"Well, okay that makes sense."

"Good now –"

"But then, why would you bother where a hood at all?"

"To hide my face," she was getting angry.

"A mask could do that pretty well, too."

"Gaah, shut up! A mask would deter my vision, okay? Now tell me how to get to Fenris!"

Ice King's eyes widened. "Oh, you want to get to Fenris? Yeah he opened up this secret door in my bathroom and I didn't like that. So, I closed it up for good. I haven't heard from him since."

"Thank you," Nesha sighed, finally relieved. "How do I open it?"

"Oh, you need to have my special ice powers for that." Ice King paused for a moment, then added, "Which you seem to have. Where'd you get those anyway?"

"I was born with them. Now, I've been in your bathroom and didn't see any door."

"Well that's because I hid it."

Nesha squeezed the bridge of her nose in frustration. Then she heard a little noise from across the room. When she looked a penguin was waving its flippers at her screeching "wenk" every now and again. Then it turned and slid away, so she continued. "I kind of guessed as much," she took a step closer and crossed her arms furiously. "If I untie you, will you show me where the door is?"

"Sure, you seem like a nice gal, you should really visit sometime."

With that, she had Durn claw apart the ropes that held the geezer to his chair. She was afraid Ice King might complain that she was ripping up parts of his past, but he didn't really say anything. When he was free he motioned for the two to follow and waddled through the doorway to his bathroom.

"Here we go," he called once inside the clean white room. It was so clean Nesha had to wonder if the Ice King ever even used it. "Since you can't see it, I'll just go ahead and use my ice powers to open it for you." He turned and began chanting strange words that Nesha thought were pretty made up. Then, to her surprise, a red streak glowed across the floor in a straight line. The red light slowly widened until it reached the breadth of about the size of a regular door. Then an actual door appeared; solid wood, with a shiny brass knob and a keyhole.

Ice King waved his hand in front of his face and streaks of blue flashed into the form of an ice key that fit perfectly into the keyhole. He turned it, then turned and asked, "When will you be coming back through?"

Nesha looked to Durn and shrugged.

Durn sighed, he didn't want to give out any more information. But he knew he trusted Nesha. "Fenris has arranged an exit for each contestant."

"Ooh, 'contestant' eh? You gonna play some kind of game show?" Ice King nudged Nesha with his shoulder.

"Not exactly," Durn said, with a face that said "you couldn't be more wrong."

"Regardless," Nesha interrupted, "I should probably get going."

"Nesha wait," Something in Ice King's eyes changed from completely deranged, to caring old man. "You need to be careful with your magic. With great power –"

"Comes great responsibility," Nesha interrupted, "Where have I heard that before?" She rolled her eyes.

"You don't understand," Ice King grabbed her shoulders, "you are taking it too lightly. All magic comes with a price, and those who cannot pay it will be left a meager shell of what they were. I warn you now, in your prime, to beware the power of ice, for the price of this magic will seep into your mind and take control of your past. That is its price." He closed his eyes as they welled with tears. "All must pay it, and when the payment is complete, you will be left a shell, a scar on the mortal plain, left to wander, hated, feared, and you shall never fade lest you lose the power you had sought for so long. For so long, I have sought this power, and I am nothing more than that, a fading wound, a grim reminder of what my seeking has done, of how I have changed."

"Wenk!"

He opened his eyes and saw a little penguin in his hands where he had been holding Nesha. "Gunter, did I lose my marbles again?"

The penguin nodded.


End file.
